


sleep the clock around, the merry-go round of life

by letheanlilith



Category: Howl no Ugoku Shiro | Howl's Moving Castle
Genre: At least I think?, F/M, calcifer is the group therapist, calcifer is tired of howl being dumb, heen is just glad he can climb the stair on his own, howl is bad at feelings, howl pendragon make sophie's life easier challenge, howl watches sophie sleep because he has thoughts™, it's all just cutesy scenes tho, it's hard being old and cleaning all day, markl is a sweet tired angel, nap time is best time, sophie sleeps everywhere, there's also a small bonus scene in the end notes with the prince in it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26756116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letheanlilith/pseuds/letheanlilith
Summary: the one where howl watches sophie sleep on numerous occasions and has thoughts™ [and feelings but don't tell anyone]or, the author watched howl's moving castle and wanted to contribute to the fandom
Relationships: Calcifer & Howl Pendragon, Calcifer & Sophie Hatter, Markl & Howl Pendragon, Sophie Hatter & Markl (Howl no Ugoku Shiro), Sophie Hatter/Howl Pendragon
Comments: 10
Kudos: 163





	sleep the clock around, the merry-go round of life

It was ridiculous, he knew _that_ much. Yet, he couldn't stop his fingers from pulling the black curtains apart. It had become a habit, maybe even a ritual, to watch her sleep. Though it was never for more than a breath ("Okay, maybe a bit _longer_. She doesn't need to know! Don't you **dare** wake her Calcifer, please _shut up_."), watching his old/young self-appointed cleaning lady curled underneath sheets that used to be _his and his only_ , sometimes with a small smile on her lips and the occasional sigh that drew from those aforementioned, he felt _something_. A feeling he wouldn't mind living in: something akin to what he felt holding Calcifer for the first time all those years ago and the way he feels at the occasional hug from Markl. If only his heart was still _his_ , hidden behind his ribs, he was sure it would be leaping out of its confines to attach itself to the young girl/old woman.

He _flinches_ away from the nook at the thought, for his not-in-its-place heart had been broken by others far too many times, and the curtains fall back into place, obscuring his vision of the sleeping girl.

The first time he saw Sophie sleeping as, well, at-the-proper-age Sophie, he nearly bolted out of the castle. He knew his self-appointed cleaning lady was cursed however that did not mean he was expecting to see _her_ when he opened the curtains. He had quickly turned to Calcifer, letting the curtains fall.

"Did you know?"

* * *

Calcifer is surprised to wake up to a gasp, from Howl of all people. Yes, that friend of his was dramatic, a lover of theatrics, but his gasps were never **that** genuine. Peeking behind his slowly diminishing log he is, to be frank, not shocked. He would question Howl's reaction but he quickly remembers that the man is never home at the lovely hour that is 1:00 PM. Just after lunch, the perfect time to take a nap.

A sentiment that not only he, but also Sophie and Markl were sharing as well. They were sharing the small sleeping nook, Sophie curled around Markl, the said child looking tinier than he usually did as only his hair was visible beneath Sophie's arms. It couldn't be comfortable, it shouldn't even **look** comfortable, but to his horror, Howl thought it _was_. 

He felt like he disturbed their peace, like he was not supposed to see this precious _event_ , even though technically this was _his_ house, _his_ castle. He looked towards Calcifer, hoping to find him sleeping but just to his luck, his friend was staring right at (and frankly somehow through) him. 

"Hello, _lover boy_."

"Oh shush you."

They needn't wake the two up, the day was still with no upcoming duties (if you didn't count the impending war) and frankly, he couldn't find it in his i'm-not-actually-in-here-so-please-stop-blaming-things-on-me heart the want to rouse them up _anyway_. So he did what any other ~~loving father figure~~ _decent host_ would do: he put two glasses and a water pitcher on a small stool nearby, pulled a light blanket on them, and closed the black curtains. Then, he outright ignored the pointed looks coming from Calcifer and made a run for his room.

Just like any other decent host would do.

* * *

He went through the motions, stuck on a (to be frank very willing) repeat, every night. He would retire to his room after sharing after-dinner silence with Sophie and Markl while Calcifer complained about "the thing of the day" (yesterday it was Sophie putting one less log next to him as she went about her day, today it was that Howl had asked for a warm bath, and tomorrow? only time could tell - the only thing Howl was sure of was that Calcifer was _going to_ complain about _something_ ~~they~~ ** _he_** could never escape), right when Sophie started to play with Markl's hair and either talked, sang or told a story to the young boy. Howl stayed once, he fell asleep to the lull of the moving castle, to the small smile in Sophie's voice as she told a story about a prince-turned-frog, his eyes following her fingers as they caressed the young child's odd-coloured locks; he woke up the next morning underneath a thankfully sleeping Markl - he was simply _terrified_. 

She would always come up an hour or so later, with a warm glass of milk for him and a small cardigan for Markl (after that nap he had, uh, barged in to, Howl had come to the realisation that the boy preferred to sleep nestled next to the "older by day, younger by night" woman). After a brief "Thank you, Sophie." and "Good night, Howl.", he had come to learn that Sophie would fall asleep in fifteen minutes to half an hour. Then, to the dismay of Calcifer, Howl would sit on the lowest step, move the curtains to the side with magic and just look? meditate? fall down into a rabbit hole that only consists of more questions and visions of a sleeping Sophie and Markl? Who could know? Definitely not him.

This somehow grounded him? Like he, _the_ Howl with _the_ Moving Castle (trademarked), felt grounded by the sight of his self-appointed and cursed cleaning lady cuddling with his apprentice. Maybe it was the normality of it all. To an outsider, he thought, they would appear to be a family. Sophie, the mother (that was an old woman during the day but _let's move past that for a second let me imagine Calcifer_ ), their son Markl and- Howl as the father. Well, he would be a bad father, with his spending habits, tendency to disappear for a few days, and at this point probably the unavoidableness of "I'm a kind of cursed, but definitely a bird-monster, it was _lovely_ to spend time with all of you but this bird has to take flight and never come back, bye fami- brethren!"

Yeah, he definitely didn't know - and oh, he was _definitely_ heartless. For a fact, he was about to turn bad like everyone except his fami- his two _brethren_ expected him to.

That's when Calcifer decided to speak up:

"Big bad Howl is in big bad trouble, isn't he?"

* * *

Big bad Howl was indeed in big bad trouble. 

He had done the unimaginable he- _he stopped dyeing his hair_. Well, at least he had thrown a temper tantrum over it so his reputation was mostly intact. Markl had asked him, when the boy was tasked with cleaning him, "Do you want me to dye your hair back, Master?" He had just shaken his head from one side to the other, remembering Sophie telling him something along the lines of "This colour suits you, too!". That woman was going to be the death of him _for sure_. 

Now, as he looked at her more-grey-than-brown hair and thought that she would look good in any hair colour, too. He was surprised to hear his own voice ask,

"Calcifer, what do I _do_?" The being rolled its eyes.

"Don't ask me, I'm just a simple demon."

* * *

"You kissed me."

A soft voice, coming from underneath his right arm, answered to his sudden voice. "What are you talking about Master?"

"Markl, honey, we talked about this, stop calling him Master you're going to send his brain into overdrive." He looked down, not really focusing on anywhere specific, to Sophie who was hugging his left side. "Yes, I did."

"But I didn't-" he started, trying to remember whatever he could from heaven knows when.

"You were on the cusp death, dearheart. I don't, and could never, hold it against you."

"Did we have this conversation before?"

She giggled. _He_ made _her_ giggle. That made _him_ giddy. Oh no, he was truly in trouble, wasn't he?

"Yes, yesterday morning, and late midday before that. Though it was after the Prince had left and you were terribly confused - wait stop laughing, why are you laughing, Markl why is he laughing?"

Honestly? Howl didn't know. He was just, so, so incredibly _happy_.

**Author's Note:**

> Bonus: 
> 
> He hated waking up from a good, hard-earned nap. Nap-time was premium Sophie-and-Markl-are-cuddling-me-and-I'm-the-happiest-man-in-this-city-actually-no-world time. However, there was this incessant knocking that would surely wake up his two favourite people (Calcifer would always wake up at the slightest sound). So he decided to humour whoever it was outside and tell them to come back at not-nap-time. 
> 
> It was the Prince. You see, this Prince (he never bothered to learn his name, he neither needed to nor wanted to) wanted his Sophie. Huh, as if. This man truly thought just because Sophie was his true love, she would choose him in the end. 
> 
> The Prince, on the other hand, thought he was being reasonable. His true love would surely break free, she was his true love and that meant he was hers, right? Whatever curse she was under would wear off by now.
> 
> Howl opened the door to not only the Prince, but also to several soldiers. 
> 
> "Can we do this another time, Monsieur Prince?"
> 
> "My name is-"
> 
> "I frankly don't care and didn't ask. Unless you want me to send granny to fawn over you I suggest you leave."
> 
> Then, he simply closed the door (locked it, to drive the point across) and went back to the extremely comfortable couch. Sophie stirred as he laid down, but he kissed her forehead and mumbled before falling asleep himself:
> 
> "Don't worry love, all is well."


End file.
